1994 KX500

[blown8950]

Hello all.  I just procured this lightly used '94 KX 500 from a friend of mine at work.  It was literally buried in his garage and covered with a blanket.  He's owned the bike since it was new.  The guy is real meticulous about stuff, so I knew it was well cared for.  It's all stock except for a Stealthy flywheel weight, which he said helped tame the hit, as he mostly trail rode with it.  It had been sitting for three years without being started, so we drained the fuel and added some fresh.  When we couldn't get it to hit, some investigation led to the discovery that the sparkplug wire was not connected for some reason.  He reattached and I gave it a kick, it backfired.  On the very next kick, she fired right up!  I was elated!  :banana: After he took a final jaunt around the neighborhood, I loaded her up and brought her home.  He sold it because at 62, he just couldn't kick it anymore, but I thought he was gonna cry as I pulled away.  He made me promise if I ever sold it, I'd give him first crack at buying it back.  I agreed.  Here are some pics...











This brings up my first of several questions.  The bike has been sitting for three years, what things should I look for before I take it out for a good thrashing?  And by that I mean it thrashing me!!  Had you just purchased it, what would you do to it first?  How is the jetting from the factory?  It seems to want to surge on deceleration a bit, it this normal or a carb issue?  Below is a short video clip of me starting it (please excuse the pajama pants), does everything sound right?  I've owned mostly four-strokes, and this thing is a different animal entirely.  Thanks in advance for all the input.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nadl-WY7pm8

[KX500freak]

WELCOME !!!

WOOOOOOW  that s a sweetheart !!
its like i see  my bike sitting in your backyard..
unbelieveable nice stored bike ,i can understand he cried ,i would too ,thats why i dont sell..
be very gentle with her ,the graphics on it are no longer avaible ,what i know off..
i love it these 1994,s 


my middle bike is the genuine 94
the left a make over ,got the chance to buy seat and graphics ,,one off chance 
now the queations before you trashing yourselfs..

1st-check brakefluid,refresh is better

2nd-new gearbox oil instant,check old oil,dont fire up before new oil,just let the cold and old stuff leak away one side every 20 min for an hour or so .

3rd-new coolants .

4th-and not forget the  airfilter ,it must be clean and greased .

5th-new gazz octane 98 mininum and premium quality premix ,dunno what you guys use overthere
mix it 1:40 and you,d be good to go.

6th-btw surching on deceleration is good for engine-braking capacities of the bigbore 2moker
but if you dont want it ,turn idle screw up till it idles ,then the surge is gone

good luck!!

 keep comin back bro 

then again heck what a sweeeeet find !!

[blown8950]

Thanks for the great reply, that's what I needed, a list of sorts of things to do before I do any sort of real riding.  The highest octane we have here is 93, but the previous owner said he's never had any trouble with it pinging, and he's owned since new.  I'll try the idle screw trick to see if that will combat the surging a bit.  Thanks again!

[hydronerd]

on the gas thing.  get ahold of a can of race gas.  what ever kind like 107 or 111 octane and put like 1 gallon to 4 gallons of 93 and you should be good on the octane with a stock motor.

[KX500freak]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nadl-WY7pm8

hahahaha    pyama 

[KX500freak]

on the gas thing.  get ahold of a can of race gas.  what ever kind like 107 or 111 octane and put like 1 gallon to 4 gallons of 93 and you should be good on the octane with a stock motor.

from what i know ,best is to not mix different octanes,
i run all my 6 smokers on 98 and they all rip ,and we have no higher octanes at the pump here .
stock motor what the manual says needs minimum 95 octane .

but the previous owner used 93 octane right from the bike,s m.y. date..
so he should best proceed with that imho.

[Sofus]

on the gas thing.  get ahold of a can of race gas.  what ever kind like 107 or 111 octane and put like 1 gallon to 4 gallons of 93 and you should be good on the octane with a stock motor.

from what i know ,best is to not mix different octanes,
i run all my 6 smokers on 98 and they all rip ,and we have no higher octanes at the pump here .
stock motor what the manual says needs minimum 95 octane .

but the previous owner used 93 octane right from the bike,s m.y. date..
so he should best proceed with that imho.

The octane ratings in europe and the US are different. In europe we use RON, which gives a higher number for the same quality fuel. In the US, it is common to use PON (pump octane number) or MON.

Take a look at this page for more information http://www.btinternet.com/~madmole/Reference/RONMONPON.html

RON (Europe) 98 is equal to PON (US) 94/93.

[KX500freak]

thanks sofus ,i really didn,t knew that.
so he,s good to go as well i am with that figures 

[cbxracer30]

A BIG problem when these bikes sit for a long time is very stiff front forks.If the forks have had the oil replaced with Bel-ray oil, it had an additive called "swell" which was meant to swell the seals and keep them from leaking , but it also swelled the plastic internals which isn't a problem if the bike is continuously rode , the parts simply wear down as its ridden ,but for a bike that sits a long period of time the parts stick in the springs and cuase the front end to be extremely stiff. you don't have to place the parts just sand them down so they have clearance in the springs.

[KXcam22]

I would suggest you do the typical "new to me" bike prep.
-change trans oil
-drain gas tank and refill with fresh premix (mine ran great on 94 pump gas)
-clean carb (gum in jets?).
-clean and reoil filter.
-change fork oil.
-lube the cables.
-repack the silencer.
-locktight and torque rear sprocket bolts.

I would also suggest re-greasing the steering head bearings, swingarm bearings and linkages.  Mine didn't come with much grease in those areas and you might get a rusty surprise if the bike has been sitting.  Nice find.  Cam.

[Hillclimb#42]

Absolutely, great tips, Cam. I would add:
 -new plug, (I use B8 ES) Cheapest at O'reilley's for me so far
 -drain and replace anti-freeze
 - look at timing mark (good to know where you are)
 -get the Clymer manual
 - download the General Spec Sheet from this Site
 -check out the jetting chart, and plug reading (I learned alot and got great results from these)
 - get the throttle real clean and free, so it snaps shut for you. If you lube that cable, remove from carb. and let completely dry before installing. The lubers shoot out alot of stuff out of the end of the cables.
 - wiggle the wheels by hand to see if there's play in wheel bearrings
 - same with swingarm, pick-up on it, try to move it left and right. Tolerances are tight and slop is worn bearrings.
Definately, like KXcam22 suggests, grease axels and pivots. I hate the swing arm needle bearrings. They always seem to fall out, if they're dry, so be careful with those.
 Looks like a new one, its likely this info will be better for general maintenance, Great find, mine barely ran, when i bought it. you are one of the lucky ones.

[Polar-Bus]

We all know that a KX500 that's been sitting dormant for years is just as bad as one that's been beat, and put away wet.

On last thing I recommend you check is the rear spokes. KX500's have a habit of hammering spokes and hubs. Keep the spokes "in tune" and you will never have problems.

One last tip, have a look at the inside of the subframe tube where the chain passes by. This is an issue and a high wear  area, and the chain will continually saw right into the sub frame tube. Rivet a thin piece of 14 ga. sheet metal to the sub frame tube to protect your expensive sub frame! Enjoy the new ride, and take it easy until you get a feel for the brutal snap an torque!

                   Rich

[blown8950]

Thanks for all the great replies everyone.  As soon as the weather breaks and I get a free minute, I'll start combing over the bike.  I really don't expect to find anything out of sorts because I know the previous owner well.  He is the pickiest and most detail oriented person I have personally ever met.  He's the type that will completely take something apart just to clean it, even if he's not gonna use it.  He had this bike apart last summer to clean and check everything, but then realized his hip would no longer let him start the thing.  He told me when I came to get it that if he could still get it started, he would definitely not be selling!  But I'm gonna change the oil and check the plug/filter and whatnot anyway.  It'll give me an opportunity to familiarize myself with the bike and spend some quality time with it.  Anyone know where I can pick up some tank shrouds on the cheap?  I'd really like to replace the plastic on this thing and keep the stock plastic safe.  Thanks everyone!

[tharden]

My bike set up for a couple of years and when I rebuilt the front forks I found some parts were starting to rust.  This is on a 02 model that had about 40 hours total on it.  I can say I enjoyed rebuilding the front forks and getting the nice action out of them afterwords was great.  You really get a grin when you work pays off.

[turtle22]

all i have to say is,are those shoes ur wearing when u start ur green monster? man if i try to start mine any any thing but boots(riding or work) my arch will hurt all day. mine fires on the tird ir fourth kick but oh boy do i have to put some leg into it. nice bike. they r a blast to ride